Rafal Blechacz’s DG debut celebrates his triumph in the 2005 International Chopin Competition in Warsaw where he swept the board, his victory emphasised and underlined by the jury’s decision not to award a second prize. True, you will rarely hear more flawlessly judged or calibrated performances, and listening to him in the firestorms of, say, Preludes Nos 8, 12, 16 and 24 you will be hard-pressed to find a greater overall mastery. There are more than hints, too, in the cloudy tonal ambiguity of the Op 45 Prelude and in the Op 62 Nocturnes of a more engaging and personal commitment.

But generally I was reminded of the great pianist Ivan Moravec’s remark to me some time ago that it is a special cause for celebration when imaginative vitality is complemented by a perfect pianist sheen. With Blechacz you are aware of the sheen, less of the imagination. He lavishes special care on the baleful image of Prelude No 6, with its tolling prophecy of Ravel’s “Le gibet�, and there is a welcome touch of caprice at the end of No 1. But elsewhere these impeccable, competition-groomed readings are short on mystery or revelation. DG’s sound is as immaculate as the playing but a comment on the edition of the Preludes used, and a more informative, less eulogistic essay could have replaced the by now customary protracted picture gallery of the artist.